Hello all. So we bought a project camper...

[Mrs. Haywood]

Greetings. Long story, but basically we bought a very souped up project camper in the form of a 1971 Prowler. It needs a lot of work and it's going to take a lot of time and money to complete.

We hired a guy to do all of the structural things (it had some water damage). But when we got into the camper further, we found a whole lot of after market stuff had been added by the previous owner. We had an electrician check it to make sure all of this stuff was safe. He said it was well wired and should all work just fine. Problem we have is that we don't know what any of this stuff is for so there's going to be a sharp learning curve here. That's why I joined this forum. I'm hoping that other camper people maybe know what some of this stuff is and can help us figure out how it works.

There's a satellite thing, something called a power eye, a whole bunch of generator converter/inverter things in one of the storage compartments, and a lot of added little weird socket looking things attached to the various walls. There's also a giant after market electrical panel that was put in under the refrigerator.

Not sure what any of this stuff is supposed to do or if we're missing things or what. Anyway, good to meet you all

 

[Rene T]

Welcome to the forum.

1st, can you post pictures and
2nd, can you start a new post for each of your questions along with pictures.

 

[Mrs. Haywood]

Welcome to the forum.

1st, can you post pictures and
2nd, can you start a new post for each of your questions along with pictures.

I can definitely post pictures. We're about to head over to the storage place now so I will get some good pics of all of the things and post them up soon. I will have to go figure out which forum is the proper one for the individual posts. Thank you!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

WOW! Hope it's a labor of love, cause you have probably already spent more than a '71 Prowler could ever be worth. Projects can be fun if you can DIY, but are just expensive if you pay professionals to do everything.

We can help with the learning curve, though at times it will seem like we are playing "20 Questions" with you. Detailed photos of the components will help, Also, please start a new topic for each subject, so that the differing answers don't get jumbled together.

Could "power eye" perhaps be a surveillance camera product called RV Eye? Like this one?

RVS Systems RV-Eye WiFi RV Camera

Completely Wireless - Installs In Minutes View and Record on Mobile Devices 170° Ultra Wide Viewing Angle Camera Equipped with an IP68 Weatherproof Rating

www.surveillance-video.com

 

[Rene T]

Don’t be too concerned whether you post a question in the right section. If after you post a question and one of the staff feels it will better exposure in another area, they can move it.

 

[Mrs. Haywood]

It is definitely going to be a labor of love. My husband is a huge fan of old cars and old things. He would much rather fix something old than buy a brand new one . This camper was purchased from our elderly neighbors who bought it as a project for their son, who didn't really do anything with it. Anyway, they were moving to a retirement place because of some health and financial issues and the poor wife was so stressed about this thing. They offered to just give it to us, but we knew they had money problems so we gave them $500 to take it off their hands.

We have a bunch of old, restored cars, but this is our first (and probably only) old camper. Eventually we are hoping to get the thing fully restored to match one of the restored cars. Seriously thank you everyone for helping with all of this!

 

[Matt_C]

Ms. Haywood,
This will be no problem for us.
We can answer all your questions.
I do hope you understand that everybody that writes here was born knowing everything about RVs and RVing and never had to ask anybody for help or guidance.
Oh, and none of us ever made a stupid mistake.
Matt

 

[Mrs. Haywood]

Lol. Thank you. I just came back from taking pictures. I will get them posted here so hopefully we can figure out what some of this stuff does. I'll start with the big electrical panel under the fridge. It seems like something runs from it to the large plug that comes out of the back of the camper (also in the pics). But honestly, I'm not sure. Any ideas on what it is are greatly appreciated. While we're at it, that big vent thing above the panel is also after market. It connects to a duct that goes to nothing (I'll put a pic of that in another post).

 

[Rene T]

The gray box in your first picture is called your entrance panel. It’s job is to keep all your equipment powered by 110 volt AC powered up and safe. If one of those items breaks or shorts out, it will trip one of those circuit breakers and possibly prevent a fire and prevent you from getting electrocuted .

I have no idea of the 2nd picture. Is it located outside? Can you take another picture but step back 10’.

The 3rd picture looks like a plug on the end of your power cord. DO NOT plug it into a receptacle until you get it checked out by a electrician or some one who is quite familiar with RV electricity. It looks like it in a VERY unsafe condition right now. I can’t stress enough, do no plug it in.

 

[SpencerPJ]

My guess the second picture is a rack for a generator, and the third picture plug, plugged into said generator in second picture rack, and supplied power to the house. Your other picture in the other thread, the big black switch, might have changed power from the generator to a shore power cord ???

 

[Mrs. Haywood]

The gray box in your first picture is called your entrance panel. It’s job is to keep all your equipment powered by 110 volt AC powered up and safe. If one of those items breaks or shorts out, it will trip one of those circuit breakers and possibly prevent a fire and prevent you from getting electrocuted .

I have no idea of the 2nd picture. Is it located outside? Can you take another picture but step back 10’.

The 3rd picture looks like a plug on the end of your power cord. DO NOT plug it into a receptacle until you get it checked out by a electrician or some one who is quite familiar with RV electricity. It looks like it in a VERY unsafe condition right now. I can’t stress enough, do no plug it in.

The second and third pic are of the same plug, and yes, it's coming out of the back of the camper. It is the one thing the electrician noted needs a refit. Here's a further away pic. The plug is the thing wrapped on the bumper with the green bungee cord.

 

[Mrs. Haywood]

The second and third pic are of the same plug, and yes, it's coming out of the back of the camper. It is the one thing the electrician noted needs a refit. Here's a further away pic. The plug is the thing wrapped on the bumper with the green bungee cord.

Woops, you can't see the bungee cord in that pic but it's right at the bottom of the picture.

 

[Rene T]

It makes sense now. As someone said it’s probably a rack to hold a generator and you could plug the cord into it.

 

[Mrs. Haywood]

Ok gotcha. Thank you! We will be adding a generator at some point. But not until after we get that plug fixed.

 

[Rene T]

Ok gotcha. Thank you! We will be adding a generator at some point. But not until after we get that plug fixed.

You don’t have to have a generator unless you plan on boon-docking which means camping without any amenities like water, electricity, cable tv and sewage.